MSU's Spring 2017 Undergraduate Research Symposium

& Community Engagement presentations

April 13, 2017, 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Griffis Hall

Join us for the spring 2017 Undergraduate Research Symposium. This symposium is open to ALL undergraduate students engaged in research. The symposium is hosted by the Shackouls Honors College in collaboration with the Center for the Advancement of Service-Learning Excellence (CASLE), the Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President, and the Office of Research & Economic Development. The Symposium will be held in Griffis Hall (on all four floors, the various seminar rooms, and the 4th floor Forum Room) and is an opportunity to showcase faculty-guided student research and creative activity from diverse departments, colleges and research centers across campus. In recognition of MSU’s Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, for the fifth year, a community engagement track will be included.

Many undergraduates participate in faculty-guided research and creative activity throughout the year. MSU is fortunate to have many faculty that involve undergraduates in research and federally-funded research experiences for undergraduate programs. ALL undergraduates in every program of study, not just honors students, who are involved in faculty-guided research and creative activity this academic year are invited and encouraged to participate in the symposium through a poster presentation. In addition, students in the Arts and Humanities category will have the option of giving a short talk or performance. If a student is in an area other than Arts & Humanities and also selects “talk or presentation”, their project will be shifted to poster format. After the poster and talk sessions, there will be an award ceremony with the presentation of prizes in the Griffis Hall Forum Room. We are considering giving student principal presenters t-shirts, so you will be asked to give your preferred size. Light refreshments will be provided and guests are encouraged to attend. There is no fee to participate or to attend.

Talks and posters need to be classified by the student as belonging to one of four categories:

Arts and Humanities

Biological Sciences and Engineering

Physical Sciences and Engineering

Social Sciences

It will be the responsibility of the student and his or her faculty mentor to properly classify the project. If a project meets the requirements to be judged for community engagement as well, the student is strongly encouraged check that box on the application form. Group projects are an integral part of research and are encouraged. However, as is usually the case at professional conferences, there will be a designated principal presenter. Co-authors and collaborators should be listed on the abstract. Prizes are awarded to the principal presenter.

This year, we may be including a picture of the principal presenter with the abstract. You will be asked to upload a head shot of yourself during the registration process. The entry deadline is March 17, 2017.

Guidelines for the community engagement competition along with the general call for projects can be found here.

Guidelines for posters are found below. Note that if a poster session is given, students must provide their own poster board for poster display! Students are expected to be on-hand to set up their own poster for display or to designate a representative to do this for them. Easels will be provided at the event and are meant to hold posters mounted to poster board. Heavier materials are not advisable. While pushpins and tape will be available to assemble your poster board, we strongly recommend that you bring your own assembly materials. The talks and performances will be given ten minutes for presentation and four minutes for questions. Note that if you are giving a talk or performance and need technology (such as a computer and/or projector), you need to check that box on the registration form and provide a flash drive.